


river rushing through my veins

by spacebeyonce



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: #thirsty-and-in-denial-Zelda, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, F/M, Mildly Implied Sexual Content, Pining, Post-Calamity Ganon, Pre-Calamity Ganon, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Various Yearnings and Wantings Therein, at the end lmao, resolved emotional tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:42:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacebeyonce/pseuds/spacebeyonce
Summary: the first thing zelda noticed about link was his eyes.5 times link caught zelda's attention and 1 time he kept it.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 270





	river rushing through my veins

**Author's Note:**

> heyooooo.
> 
> this....was a challenge that spiraled out of control. the #thirsty-and-in-denial-Zelda challenge. I started writing this this morning, thinking it'd be a short thing, maybe around 1k.
> 
> 5k later and here we are! it's fine, it was fun.
> 
> I'm not entirely sure if this constitutes as M level material but I feel in my spirit it kinda does so better safe than sorry.
> 
> title is from the song 'liquid smooth' by mitski, and if you haven't listened to that yet. you should.

1.

The first thing Zelda noticed about Link was his eyes.

She had only known _of_ him, in the earlier years – the boy that answered the call of the Sword that Seals the Darkness, and a constant reminder of the Calamity that now hung over her head. The youngest member of the Royal Guard in centuries, Zelda did her level best to avoid him, because the sight of him sent a complicated twist in her gut – anxiety, fear –

A churning, boiling _envy._

So when she sees him in the halls, standing guard as she walks past, Zelda tries not to look at him. But sometimes, just for a second, she manages to catch his eye anyway – just for a moment. And every time, she’s startled by how incredibly _blue_ his eyes were; Zelda isn’t sure she’s ever seen a shade like it. With the shades of the Royal Guard uniform, the deep, muted reds and blues only made his eyes stand out even _more._

It was infuriating.

At times, when she was in her study, or when she was supposed to be focused on her prayers, Zelda found her mind wandering idly to those _eyes_ , and trying to find a color that best fit. Cornflower blue, no…maybe more like the endless blue skies, or the waters of the lakes and rivers of Hyrule, or the blue centering the petals on the elusive Silent Princess –

Snapping out of her thoughts, Zelda would shake the musings away with sharp irritation - who the irritation was aimed at, she couldn’t say. Irritation at Link, who paraded the halls as a symbol of everything she could never be? At herself for how much she still lacked, for how much she still brought disappointment to her father’s eyes, no matter how hard she tried?

She didn’t know.

But every slip up increased her frustration and pushed her to _stop_ giving Link the time of day, and keep her thoughts focused on things that were much more important and _much_ more _worth her time_.

The next time she passed him in the halls, Zelda barely glanced in his direction.

-o-

2.

If Zelda thought seeing Link within the castle was annoying, it was _nothing_ compared to when he was assigned to become her personal knight.

She had to constantly remind herself to breathe evenly, to curl her hands out of tight fists, to relax her jaw from where she was constantly grinding her teeth, holding back a scream. Zelda could always sense his presence at her back, always feel his eyes on the back of her neck, and she could _see_ them in her mind, that irritating, indescribable blue, and her blood _boiled._

Maybe her father did this to punish her; maybe he assigned Link to dog at her heels every day as a constant reminder of her failures, of what she _lacked_. That if she worked hard enough (even though, she thought bitterly to herself, she had been working hard every day for _years_ ) then she could become that – strong, infallible, fulfilling the call of destiny as easily as pulling a sword from the ground.

Zelda would stare at him as he stood guard in front of her study, looking over his blond hair and the set of his shoulders, hands planted on the pommel of his sword, and – and she was fairly certain she has never hated a person so, who made her feel this way.

So _inadequate._

She had to get away from him, sometimes; she couldn’t bear it, having him near her so _often_ , making her feel stifled, _trapped_ – and so she took every opportunity she could to escape. No one knew the castle better than her, all the nooks and crannies and secret places that she’d been taught to find when she was a child, and she took advantage of that, sneaking away from Link’s constant watch to have just a _minute_ to herself. Just a moment away from that _sword_ , and the set of his shoulders, and his eyes –

Sequestered away in a corner of the library she was _positive_ Link wouldn’t find her in, Zelda froze, staring down at her book with unseeing eyes.

Spreading her fingers across the pages, Zelda let out a slow, even breath, and allowed herself to think about it. She knows that – that Link is not… _unpleasant_ to look at; all the ladies in the castle say so, whispering and giggling every time he passed. He was, she admitted grudgingly to herself, _very_ attractive – even now, she still finds herself stumped on trying to find the right color to describe his eyes. And he certainly wasn’t as – as gangly and _boyish_ as he was when he first came to the castle, Master Sword strapped to his back. He was much more – he was _broader_ , now, she supposed. A very… _handsome_ young man.

Logically, Zelda knew this. She could take these facts in at face value and accept it.

 _But that doesn’t change anything_ , she firmly told herself, nodding resolutely at her book. Link may be perfectly proportioned and pleasing to the eyes, and talented and charismatic and a million other things the castle attendants gush about him –

But that doesn’t erase the fact that he was stuck with her to be paraded around the land as Hylia’s golden boy and highlight just how much of a failure she was, compared to him.

And she would never stop resenting him for it.

A decision that was further cemented when she left what she _thought_ was her hidden sanctuary in the library, only to see her _cursed_ knight standing at the end of the shelves, waiting for her.

Zelda had to harshly bite at the inside of her cheek to hold back a scream.

-o-

3.

The next time she was _viscerally_ reminded of how attractive he was happened accidentally.

They were making their way to Tabantha – slowly, because Zelda always likes to take the longest path possible, and every day away from the castle was another day she could breathe. And they had stopped for the night, Link watching over camp throughout the night as Zelda slept – but when she awoke in the morning, Link was strangely absent.

She paid it no mind at first, grabbing her things and heading to the river she knew was nearby to get her morning toilet out of the way and bathe and prepare herself for another long day of travel with her knight at her heels and her talking just to cut through that _silence._ Link and wherever he was had been the last thing on her mind as she made her way to the river –

Until she caught a glimpse of him through the trees.

Choking back a gasp, Zelda whipped around and hid behind the closest tree, clutching her clothing to her chest as she tried to will away the heat she could feel spreading to the tips of her ears. That couldn’t have been what she saw – could it? Was it? It – she was still at such a distance that she wouldn’t get caught….maybe she could just –

Holding her breath, Zelda slowly peeked around the tree, trying not to make any noise and alert her presence, and –

Oh.

_Well._

She could only see Link from the waist up, the rest of him submerged in the water as he scrubbed his hands through his damp hair, loose and falling across his shoulders. His _shoulders_ , which were very – _very_ – hm. Zelda already knew how – how _nice_ his shoulders were, from how they filled out his Champion’s tunic, but now, seeing nothing but skin and skin and _skin_ , tanned and glittering with droplets of water in the sunlight –

Her eyes unwittingly tracked a bead of water, slipping from the nape of his neck to between his shoulder blades, down to the dip in his back at the base of his spine, and the muscles in his back stretched and flexed beneath his skin in such a _peculiar_ way –

Link sighed, long and low, the noise breaking the stillness in the air and snapping Zelda out of the – the _trance_ she was in, caught up in staring at that _stupid_ bead of water, and – and she couldn’t stay there. She didn’t know how she could look him in the eye right now without imagining –

She _could not_ stay there.

Exhaling in a quiet hiss through her teeth, Zelda got up as quietly as she could before slinking through the trees, heading back to camp. She didn’t look back. She _wouldn’t_ look back. Once she got back to the camp, she quickly changed into her clothes, a bath be damned, and snatched up the Sheikah Slate before running to her horse. She practically threw herself on Tempest’s back, clicking her tongue and tapping her heels against his side to send him into a quick gallop, the wind combing through her hair as she led her horse _anywhere but there._

Her heart raced with irritation; all she could see when she blinked was the flex of muscle beneath sun-kissed skin – that _thrice damned_ bead of water, trailing down his back. In that moment…just for a _second_ – she wondered how it would feel, to - to touch him. To press her hands against all that _skin_ and feel the muscles move beneath her palms. To see if his skin was as warm as it looked and have that warmth sink into her blood.

Goddess above, how she hated him! How she hated _herself,_ for giving in to such vapid, petty desire, if only for a moment.

 _It changes nothing,_ she fiercely reminded herself. _It doesn’t change anything!!_

Zelda clicked her tongue again, sending her horse into a proper gallop, and wished for him to carry her all the way to Gerudo Town – her knight wouldn’t be able to follow her there. But she wasn’t _cruel_ , and so she pushed her horse as far as she could go, her stomach burning with resentment and shame and that persistent, _annoying_ ache of curious desire.

-o-

4.

Eventually, Zelda found out that his skin was as warm as it looked, after all.

It was in the perfunctory once-over he’d given her, after he sent the Yiga scattering, his hands clinical as they pat over her, checking for any scrapes or sprains. It was in how he had held her hand, afterward, until Urbosa found them, and the warmth of his palms sank through the cold shock that covered her. Even through their combined gloves, he was so warm.

She didn’t know what to do with this – that even though she’s done everything she could to push him away, to let him know with every moment that she wanted nothing more than to be alone, he was still there for her when she needed him the most.

It baffled her. It made her feel _guilty._

That guilt pushed Zelda to – to make _some_ attempt at making amends. She had to try, at least, to apologize; wallowing in this guilt and doing nothing about it wouldn’t be good for her. And maybe…maybe it would turn out for the best.

And it did. It _did_.

It also went so _horribly_ wrong for her.

Before, when she hated Link to his bones, it was fine. She could look at him in that detached, clinical way, and see that he was attractive and accept it. He was handsome, and she could look as much as she liked, but it meant nothing to her because she wanted nothing to do with him.

But now? Now, when they had become friends?

Now, when Zelda knows that Link has a soft spot for literature, but isn’t fond of theater? When she knows that he could eat his literal body weight in food, and has a way with horses not even the stable hands can attain? When she knows how his voice sounds, and the way that his eyes – still so indescribably blue – crinkled at the corners when he laughed? When Zelda knew, now, just how warm his skin was? How rough the callouses on his hands were, and how they caught against her skin?

Now, that desire from before was less abstract. Now, it had definition, blank gaps filling in with all the new information she was gathering. Now it had _teeth_.

Whenever Zelda would pull Link into her study to look over notes, or a book she thought he would like, he would always listen to her as she explained the most recent update they discovered about the Guardians and their functions. And when he leaned in to look at the notes she was pointing out, Zelda would always be gripped with the wild urge to turn her head and press her lips against his, to suck his bottom lip into her mouth and gently bite at it and see if he would groan in his chest like she dreamed.

Or during those horrid days at the springs, after hours and hours of praying, and Zelda was cold and tired and defeated as Link helped her out of the water, she wanted him to pull his gloves off with his teeth and drag his hands against her skin and chase the chills away. She wanted him to cup her hips in his hands and pull her close, soaked dress and all, and bury his face in her neck. Zelda wanted him to kiss her until she was warm all over.

It was _horrible_ , and some days she longed to go back to that unattached attraction. But now, as the days pass and she gets to know Link more and more, she has begun to _like him_ as an _actual human person_ , instead of as a – as a _symbol,_ or a pretty _ideal_.

The feeling was… _overwhelming._

So Zelda decides to go on a ride, to clear her head.

Though of course, Link must come with her, as her knight, so she feels as though the attempt to clear her head would be for naught. She would put forth the effort, regardless.

“Oh, there’s one! Oh, and another!”

And at first, it was – it was _fine._ They were sitting in a field, soaking in the sunshine, and Zelda determinedly took pictures of flowers for the slate, trying to ignore the weight of Link’s presence, the tingle of his eyes on her – always watching her.

She always wanted his eyes to be on her.

But still – it had been _fine!_ She found plenty of flowers to record for the slate, and even found a _Silent Princess,_ as melancholy as the flower made her feel. She had even happened upon a hot footed frog! And it would’ve been perfect for an impromptu study of how the wildlife in Hyrule can augment abilities if –

“Go on!!” Zelda urged, shoving the frog in Link’s face. “Taste it!!”

If only –

Link held his hands up to ward off the frog, tiny laughs sputtering past his lips as his face twisted in disgust, trying to lean away from the frog as Zelda pressed closer and closer and –

The frog, deciding that taking a daring leap was better than staying here, jumped from her palms and onto Link’s head. And Zelda, in all her wisdom, thought it was the _best_ idea to dart forward to try and reclaim her prize, only to collide into Link and send them both sprawling into the grass.

The first thought that came to her mind was that his hands, Zelda noted numbly, were holding her hips, just the way she wanted – she could feel the warmth of them sink into her skin, even with so many _layers_ in the way. The next thing she noticed was that she could feel Link’s heartbeat against her cheek, and it was beating _rapidly_ , so much so that it started to worry her.

The last thing she noticed was his thigh – wedged between hers from their tumble to the ground, and so _warm_.

Time felt like molasses as she slowly pushed herself up from the sprawl she was in, her hair tumbling over her shoulders as she looked down at Link with wide eyes, taking in how his hair shined like gold in the light, haloed around his head. He was looking at her too, eyes bigger than she’d ever seen them, and it would almost be funny if she weren’t so stunned.

His hands were still on her hips, bracing her – holding her up.

Her lips felt dry, and Zelda quickly swiped her tongue across them, trying to speak and – and if she wasn’t so proficient at looking at Link when he wasn’t paying attention, she would’ve missed the lightning fast movement of his eyes flicking down to look at her mouth before darting back up to meet her eyes, still as wide and startled as she’d ever seen them.

In sank in, then, the position they were in – how it would _look_ – and Zelda felt lightheaded at the speed heat rushed to her face. She yanked herself back, away from his eyes and his hands and his _thigh_ , and scooted back before any bereft feelings could sink in.

“I’m so sorry!” She squeaked, “I – that was inappropriate of me, I apologize! Should – should we…should we head back to the castle?”

“…Yes,” he finally said, and Zelda did her best not to shiver at the rasp in his voice. “I believe we should. Let’s go back.”

It was hard to look him in the eye, as they gathered their horses and made their way back to the castle, because now she had more blank gaps that had been filled – more precious information to add to her hoard. She knew how his hands felt on her hips, now. Knew how it felt to have one of his thighs – corded, warm, _strong_ , shoved between hers. She _knew_ these things now, could never take them back, and the strains of wanting grew even sharper.

Now she had new wants, to add to her collection; she wanted him to pull her into a shadowy alcove in the castle, or one of the secret hiding spots where no one could ever find them, and kiss her until her lips ached, one thigh shoved between hers. She wanted him to keep his hands on her hips, and use the leverage to flip her until she was the one lying in the grass, her hair spread around them as he leaned down to kiss her greedily among the flowers.

When they were back in the castle, and she was safely in her room, Zelda promptly picked a pillow off her bed and pressed it to her face, muffling the noise as she screamed as loud as she could.

She didn’t know how much more of this wanting she could take.

-o-

5.

At the Spring of Wisdom, Zelda lets herself bend, just a little.

Only a little.

But see, it – it was just so _cold_ , and she has spent hours and hours and hours praying. Praying and begging and pouring herself out so she could finally come home with something to show for it. She didn’t know if she could handle it if she had to return to the castle and face her father empty handed once again.

So she ignored her hunger, her exhaustion, how her skin ached with bone-deep cold, and she prayed and prayed and prayed.

She only came back to herself when hands, hotter than a brand, circled around her bare arms, and Zelda’s eyes snapped open as she whirled around to face Link. He had waded into the freezing spring to come to her, and his eyes were hard, but sad.

“Come out,” he urged her, quiet but brimming with emotion, “before you freeze to death. Come out, Zelda.”

“I can’t,” she protested weakly, too cold to even thrill at the fact that he _said_ her _name_. “If I can’t awaken my powers here, then – then _it’s over_. I can’t come out. I _can’t_.”

Zelda thought that she had pushed some determination in her voice, to prove her dedication – but Link’s eyes only grew sadder. His jaw set as he let her go, and Zelda only had a second of the cold rushing in where his warmth had been, biting at her, before he bent down and – and _scooped her out of the water._ Held her in his arms like she weighed nothing, as he sloshed his way out of the spring towards the campfire he had made hours before.

Her resistance crumbled into dust, and she folded in Link’s arms, shoving her face into his neck and clinging to his tunic as they sat before the fire. The heat from the fire rolled over her, and it was unbearable at first, her skin crying out in pain as she slowly began to thaw out. She didn’t look up until Link threw something heavy over her bare shoulders – a quilt, she noticed. Rito made, given the patterns and the weight.

Zelda couldn’t find the words, as he adjusted the large blanket around them, and she could only stare at Link, blinking slowly until she realized that he had planted her in the cradle of his legs as he’d sat down. He must have felt it, when she stiffened up at the realization, because he looked up at her with wary eyes. “If I’ve made you uncomfortable, I –”

“No,” she cut him off, curling her numb fingers even tighter into his tunic. “Stay.”

Link relaxed, which made her relax too, and for a while they just – stared at each other, the crackle of the fire and the howl of the wind the only noises filling the space.

“I’m a failure.” Zelda finally said, her voice a thin whisper almost drowned out by the wind. “I didn’t – I didn’t hear anything. I’ve been praying for _hours_ and I – I don’t feel _anything._ ” The tears that filled her eyes felt boiling hot as they welled up, clinging to her lashes as she refused to let them fall. “I can’t do anything. I’m nothing – _nothing._ ”

“That’s not true.”

Link’s eyes were hard when she looked back over at him, “you aren’t nothing at all – and you aren’t a failure. You’ve done so much to help, even without your powers. You helped the Sheikah with the Guardians, and the Champions with their Divine Beasts – that’s not _nothing_.”

“But it’s not _enough!!_ ” Zelda stressed, “my father will _never_ let me rest if I don’t come back with this power!! This spring it – it was supposed to be the one!! It was my last chance!! What do I do if I return home with nothing to show for it??”

“This isn’t your last chance.”

Link’s hands, firmly planted on her hips, slid up, up, to curve high around her sides – and the touch felt warmer than any fire.

“You have so many chances,” he promised her. “It’s not the end just because you didn’t hear anything today or didn’t feel anything. You’re not a failure.”

“But I’ve been trying _so hard_ for _years_ –”

“And you still aren’t a failure.” Link shook her lightly, “you’re the strongest, most hardworking, dedicated person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. This isn’t your last chance – I promise.”

His eyes were so bright as he looked up at her, lit up with the strength of his faith – his faith in _her_. And his hands were so warm – so _strong_ , holding her up, keeping her steady. And Zelda couldn’t help but giving in to her hoard of selfish wants, just a little.

She leaned down, sighing shakily, until her forehead was pressed against his, and she stared into his eyes as they widened slightly, her fingers curled into his tunic tugging tighter, pulling him closer. “I’m not sure how I could’ve done this without you,” she whispered, like she was telling a great secret, and the tip of her nose brushed against his.

Link’s hands tightened on her sides, and his gaze never wavered, despite how close they were. “You’ll never need to find out,” he promised, and oh –

Oh, she liked him _so much._

Zelda breathed out a laugh and shook her head, their noses brushing together once again, and her will bent a little further, pressed her a little closer, until she could almost feel his upper lip brush against hers. Link exhaled slightly, and it was a little shaky – but he wasn’t letting her go. And it could be easy. So, so easy.

She wanted him to wrap them up in the blankets with nothing between them, selfishly pressed skin to skin. She wanted him to kiss her, and keep out the cold, until the ice of another failure thawed around her heart.

She wanted to be seen, and wanted, and to have her years of prayers finally be answered – she wanted to be _worthy_.

Zelda would bend, and she would give into her selfish whims, just for a moment – but she wouldn’t break.

One finger at a time, she loosened her tight grip on Link’s tunic, slowly pried herself away. She let her hands fall onto Link’s, circling his wrists with her hands, and smiled at him as he slowly let her go. She was nowhere near warm enough, but she was wasting time – time that could be spent seeing if this next chance, or the next, or the next, could be the one.

She let the blankets fall away, and the look on Link’s face was hard to read as she stepped away from the warmth, rearranging the soaked, freezing skirt of her dress.

“Alright,” she said quietly, “one more chance, then.”

And she walked back into the spring.

-o-

+1

Resting her chin on her hand, Zelda reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind a pointed ear. Link’s nose wrinkled at the touch, but he didn’t wake, continuing to sleep peacefully and giving Zelda more time to unabashedly stare at him. She silently catalogued all the changes that she had missed – the length of his hair, the new scars he had acquired, the freckles gathered at his shoulders, dusting across his skin like constellations.

She reached out once more, to run her fingers through his hair, and Link mumbled in his sleep, shifting in the loft bed in his Hateno home.

In _their_ Hateno home.

How lucky, she marveled, that she gets to be here – that she gets to have this chance to lay next to him, and watch him sleep, and touch him whenever she wanted. What a gift it was, to be here.

“You’re staring at me,” Link grumbled, and Zelda blinked back into focus to see him looking up at her, one impossibly blue eye cracked open. “Why are you even up?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just didn’t want to sleep anymore, but I didn’t want to get out of bed.”

“You couldn’t find anything more interesting to look at than me? I have books, you know.”

Zelda grinned down at him, cheeky, “I _like_ looking at you.” And she watched, pleased, as a pink flush settled across Link’s cheeks.

“Well, look at something else,” he grumbled halfheartedly, and stretched his arms overhead, officially awake. “You looked like you were thinking about something.”

“I was,” she agreed, and Link made a face when she didn’t say anything further.

“Feel like sharing your thoughts?”

“Hmm…” Zelda reached over to twirl a lock of Link’s hair around her finger. “I was thinking about before – and how much I liked you then but didn’t _let_ myself like you. And how lucky I am, that I get to have another chance to like you now.”

The flush in his face increased, and Link covered his face with his hand in an attempt to hide, groaning as Zelda laughed at his embarrassment. “How can you just _say_ things like that?” He asked helplessly, “my heart can’t take things like that!”

“It’s the truth!!” She laughed, “I’m not going to – to _hold back_ , or anything, not now!”

Link grumbled again, but he peeked at her from the gap between his fingers, skin still flushed. “…You liked me?” He asked, and Zelda wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I _know_ that you remembered that I liked you – I feel like I was getting really obvious! Especially at the end!!”

“…Maybe a little,” he admitted quietly, and if Zelda still weren’t playing with his hair, she’d poke him in the ribs. “But you liked me. Truly. I wasn’t making anything up.”

“You weren’t,” she agreed. “I’d thought you were handsome for a long time – even when I didn’t like you all that much. And then once I _did_ like you, it got worse. I wanted a _lot_ of things.”

“Oh?”

That got his interest, just like she knew it would, and he slowly sat up, the blankets slipping away from his chest and pooling around his waist. “You _wanted_ things, huh,” he pondered, leaning in, and Zelda willingly rose up to meet him, pushing herself up onto her knees. “Do you remember any of those _things_ that you wanted? Maybe we can sort a few of them out.”

“I have a _list_ ,” she informed him happily, wrapping her arms around his neck “and I remember every single one. We can get started on a couple of them today if you like.”

Link quickly leaned in to swoop her into a kiss, and Zelda gave into it happily, sucking his lower lip into her mouth and biting at it, soft, just as she always wanted – and the groan from deep within his chest was everything she wanted and more. His arm was a warm band around her waist as he flipped her onto the mattress, pressing her into the blankets, and his eyes were hazy as he pulled back to grin down at her, his calloused hand moving slowly from her hip to her knee and making her hair stand on end.

“Well,” he said slowly, considering, as he hooked his fingers behind her knee and hitched her leg over his hip, “I wouldn’t feel right leaving you wanting all this time, would I?”

He gave her a crooked grin, hovering over her and golden in the sunlight that drenched their room, and giggles spilled over Zelda’s lips as she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him down to meet her.

**Author's Note:**

> okay that's it!
> 
> everyone should totally check out the other works that are coming out from the #thirsty-and-in-denial-Zelda challenge on tumblr! there's a lot of fun things that'll be brewing up in that tag!
> 
> comments and kudos are always fun and cool. and I'll see y'all when I see y'all lmao
> 
> until next time!


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